Visiting Cumberland County Historical Society Museum to Learn About Regional History

Wednesday, April 6, 2016 11:00 AM

The Cumberland County Historical Society was featured on UncoveringPA.com in April 2016.

"I’ve been to many great historical society museums in Pennsylvania, but few have been quite like the Cumberland County Historical Society Museum in Carlisle. Formed in the 1870s, the historical society has grown out of its original building to encompass newer construction that blends naturally with the historic buildings in the heart of the downtown area.

This combination of a large, modern museum in the heart of the downtown historic district puts the Cumberland County Historical Society Museum into a very small class, with the York Heritage Center being one of the few similar ones to come to mind.

Ultimately, though, while a good location and modern facilities are great, what matters with a historical society museum is whether they do a good job telling the story of the region and its place in the world. And fortunately, the Cumberland County Historical Society Museum does both, with the benefits of having modern and approachable exhibits.

Most of the museum’s 5,000 square feet of exhibit space are located on the second floor of the facility, with the first floor reserved for the historical society library, a large meeting room, and a small temporary exhibition gallery (more on this later).

The museum starts with a great map of Cumberland County that showcases major towns and a few points of interest in the county. In addition to being a great way to get your bearings on the geography of the county, it also has a few interesting tidbits that I’m hoping to research in the future."